behavior
grrlscientist | August 22, 2009tags: animal behavior, hamster on a leash, Syrian golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, humor, funny, streaming video
When I was a kid, I had hamsters, too, and I walked them on leashes. But I didn't have a video camera.
grrlscientist | August 22, 2009tags: animal behavior, hamster on a piano eating popcorn, siberian dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus, humor, funny, streaming video
It is Saturday morning afterall, so I am just going to have fun sharing silly videos of the cutest little mammal known to humanity; Siberian dwarf hamsters. This video features a couple Siberian dwarf hamsters, one of which is a speed demon, revealed by the speedometer attached to its wheel. As an added bonus, this hamster teaches us a little math;
To get the hamster's speed, divide the speed written by ten, then you will have it in km/h.
grrlscientist | August 22, 2009tags: animal behavior, hamster on a piano eating popcorn, siberian dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus, humor, funny, streaming video
I've linked to this video before, but I love dwarf hamsters (kept them as pets most of my life, in fact, but don't tell this to the guy I just married), so I had to share this with you again;
grrlscientist | August 21, 2009tags: animal behavior, hamster wheel, siberian dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus, humor, funny, streaming video
I dunno about you, but sometimes, I feel like I am running my life away on a hamster wheel -- getting nowhere fast. Except for those days when the hamster wheel of life stops working properly, that is! Below the jump, a sweet little Siberian dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus, demonstrates what I mean;
grrlscientist | August 18, 2009tags: Walk On The Wild Side, animals, behavior, humor, streaming video
Walk On The Wild Side is a brand new comedy series that seeks to provide a long overdue forum for the views and opinions of the animal kingdom [1:54]
grrlscientist | August 12, 2009tags: TEDTalks, marshmallow experiment, future success, Joachim de Posada, streaming video
This video is a short talk where Joachim de Posada shares a landmark experiment on delayed gratification -- and how it can predict future success. With priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat the marshmallow [7:14]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | August 8, 2009tags: pregnancy in America, Natus craze, funny, humor, satire, streaming video
This video is a news report from The Day Today with Barbara Wintergreen, who is investigating the Natus craze in California [2:02]
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: TEDTalks, biomimicry, technology, Janine Benyus, streaming video
Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you'll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.. [20:15]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | July 21, 2009tags: TEDTalks, medicine, Psychopathic Killers, epigenetics, brain damage, psychology, MAOA gene, serotonin, Jim Fallon, streaming video
Psychopathic killers are the basis for some must-watch TV, but what really makes them tick? Neuroscientist Jim Fallon talks about brain scans and genetic analysis that may uncover the rotten wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. In a too-strange-for-fiction twist, he shares a fascinating family history that makes his work chillingly personal [4:42]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference,…
grrlscientist | July 21, 2009tags: TEDTalks, Diet Pepsi, Aspartame, artificial sweeteners, diversity, choice, happiness, psychology, Malcolm Gladwell, streaming video
Tipping Point [Amazon: $8.54] author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness [18:16]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | July 17, 2009tags: TEDTalks, skin color, skin pigmentation, melanin, folate, humans, UV radiation, Vitamin D, evolution, streaming video
Nina Jablonski says that differing skin colors are simply our bodies' adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure. Charles Darwin disagreed with this theory, but she explains, that's because he did not have access to NASA. [14:48]
grrlscientist | July 14, 2009tags: snowball, dancing cockatoo, parrots, Cacatua galerita eleanora, interview
Snowball, adult male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleanora.
Image: courtesy of Bird Lovers Only [larger view].
I have been working behind the scenes for the opportunity to interview Irena, the woman who lives with the amazing Snowball, the dancing cockatoo. She recently indicated her willingness to be interviewed so I am going to share the fun with all of you, dear readers. I gave you one week to think of all those questions that you'd like to ask Irena about Snowball, and the…
grrlscientist | July 9, 2009tags: snowball, dancing cockatoo, parrots, Cacatua galerita eleanora, interview
Snowball, adult male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleanora.
Image: courtesy of Bird Lovers Only [larger view].
I have been working behind the scenes for the opportunity to interview Irena, the woman who lives with the amazing Snowball, the dancing cockatoo. She recently indicated her willingness to be interviewed so I am going to share the fun with all of you, dear readers. I will give you one week to think of all those questions that you'd like to ask Irena about Snowball, so…
grrlscientist | July 8, 2009tags: dragonfly vision, facets, opsin, compound eyes, insects, dragonflies, Dennis Paulson, David O'Carroll, Robert Olberg
Male Megaloprepus caerulatus, PANAMA, Rio Chico Masambi, near Gamboa,
11 August 2005; photo by Julie Craves, a Natural Science Research Associate
at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Color vision in humans depends upon three light-sensitive proteins, called opsins, that are present in our retinas. Each type of opsin absorbs one color of light in the spectrum. In humans, the colors absorbed by these opsins are red, green or blue. The many wavelengths of light…
laelaps | July 8, 2009A beautiful artistic reconstruction of Indohyus by Carl Buell.During the last 30 years paleontologists have uncovered a startling amount of fossil evidence which has illuminated the early evolution of whales. The earliest members of the cetacea looked nothing like the marine mammals we are familiar with today, and in December of 2007 a paper in Nature identified a small hoofed mammal called Indohyus as one of the closest relatives to the earliest whales. This hypothesis was supported by a subsequent study published a few months ago in the same journal.
One of the most interesting aspects of…
grrlscientist | June 30, 2009tags: Michael Jackson, Moonwalking Bird, birds, behavior, funny, streaming video
I am an ornithologist and aviculturist, which means that I research birds scientifically as well as breeding and raising them. So after the shock of Michael Jackson's sudden death wore off, I wanted to share a bird lover's farewell to Michael with you [1:15]
grrlscientist | June 28, 2009tags: World Science Festival, science, dancing parrot, Snowball, eleanora cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea eleonora, humor, funny, streaming video
Despite living in NYC, I was not at the World Science Festival last weekend, which totally bums me out, especially since Irene Pepperberg was there, speaking, and Snowball, a male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea eleonora, was there, dancing. This video shows Snowball's delightful performance -- which I missed!! [3:01]
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: book review, Animals Make Us Human, animal welfare, pets, farm animals, agriculture, Temple Grandin
What do animals need to have a good mental life? This question seems easy to answer until we realize that even though we can provide for an animal's physical welfare, we actually don't know that much about the specifics of an animal's emotional life and what they need to be happy. In this book, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2009), animal welfare guru Temple Grandin explores what the most commonly kept species of domestic…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2009tags: The Ant Whisperer, ants, hymenoptera, pheromones, EO Wilson, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, evolution, streaming video
Because I do not own a television, I was thrilled to find that Lord of the Ants, the Nova program that aired on PBS tonight, is freely available as a streaming video. This program describes some of EO Wilson's amazing discoveries about ant communication, behavioral ecology and evolution [52:23]
grrlscientist | June 9, 2009tags: The Ant Whisperer, ants, hymenoptera, pheromones, EO Wilson, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, evolution, streaming video
If I owned a television, you can bet I'd be watching this Nova program on PBS tonight: The Lord of the Ants. This program describes some of EO Wilson's amazing discoveries about ant communication, behavioral ecology and evolution [3:40]